Spurgeon: the sinful prayer

Saturday, July 26, 2014
Meditation:
    And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
    —Romans 8:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a sinful prayer, and only moves that arm because the Sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication.
    ... Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), Spurgeon’s Sermons Volume 9: 1863, CCEL, Sermon 515 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 8:26-27,34; Isa. 6:6-7; 64:6; Zech. 12:10; Eph. 2:18; 1 John 2:1
Quiet time reflection:
    Purify my prayer, Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: a gift from Christ

Friday, July 25, 2014
    Feast of James the Apostle
Meditation:
    Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
    —John 14:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God, as we know Him, is a gift to us from Christ.
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), From the Edge of the Crowd, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1924, p. 9 (see the book)
    See also John 14:9-11; Luke 24:44; John 5:39-40; Acts 26:22-23; Rom. 1:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:10-11; Rev. 1:5-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Blessed are the eyes of faith that you have granted to me, Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: love motivates

Thursday, July 24, 2014
    Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471
Meditation:
    When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
    “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
    Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
    Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
    He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
    Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
    The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
    Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
    Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
!     —John 21:15-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Whoever loves much, does much.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.xv.2, p. 51 (see the book)
    See also John 21:15-17; Ps. 78:70-72; John 14:15; Acts 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 5:6; 1 Pet. 5:1-4; 1 John 4:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me a heart like Yours. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: bearing one another's burdens

Wednesday, July 23, 2014
    Commemoration of Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373
Meditation:
    Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
    —Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is the fellowship of the Cross to experience the burden of the other. If one does not experience it, the fellowship he belongs to is not Christian. If any member refuses to bear that burden, he denies the law of Christ.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together [1954], tr. Daniel W. Bloesch & James H. Burtness, Fortress Press, 2004, p. 101 (see the book)
    See also Gal. 6:2; Isa. 53:4; Matt. 5:41; 8:17; 11:29-30; Rom. 15:1; 1 Pet. 2:24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me alert to the one whose burden is heavy. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cassels: an unpopular message

Tuesday, July 22, 2014
    Feast of Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles
Meditation:
    [The Lord:] “If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people!”
    —Micah 2:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Hebrew word, nabi, which is translated “prophet” in English Bibles, has the connotation of “message bearer.” The prophets were men called by God to serve as His messengers to a stubborn and unheeding people. They were always careful to point out that they were not voicing their own wisdom. Their warnings, entreaties, and promises were always prefaced by the awesome proclamation:
    “Thus says the Lord...”
    When the prophets did engage in prognostication, they usually were concerned with events which were fairly close at hand, such as the Assyrian conquest of Israel and the Babylonian conquest of Judah (both of which they foretold with deadly accuracy). But occasionally a prophet’s vision ranged farther into the future, to the day when God would enter into a new covenant with his rebellious children. The hope of reconciliation was often linked with the coming of a very particular person, a Messiah or Savior.
    What made the prophets so sure that they had a right—nay, a duty, to speak in the name of God? It is clear from their writings that they were not megalomaniacs who confused their own thoughts with the voice of God. On the contrary, they were humble men, awe-stricken by the responsibilities thrust upon them...
    The prophets minced no words in their indictments of the sins of Israel and Judah, and they trod especially hard on the toes of the rich, the powerful, and the pious. The Establishment responded then as some church members are wont to respond now when a preacher speaks out on controversial public issues:
    “One should not preach of such things!”
    ... Louis Cassels (1922-1974), Your Bible, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1967, p. 186-187,189 (see the book)
    See also Mic. 2:11; 1 Kings 22:8; Isa. 30:10; 52:13-15; 53; Jer. 31:31-34; 38:2-4; Eze. 37:3-14; Mic. 2:3-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead us away from deceit towards the truth of Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Macdonald: the advantage of the poor

Monday, July 21, 2014
Meditation:
    Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
    —Matthew 19:23-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As to the poor, I am afraid I was always in some danger of being a partisan of theirs against the rich; and that a clergyman ought never to be. And, indeed, the poor rich have more need of the care of the clergyman than the others, seeing it is hardly that the rich shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, and the poor have all the advantage over them in that respect.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, v. I [1867], London: Strahan & Co., 1873, p. 61 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 19:23-24; Ps. 49:5-10; Eccl. 5:10; Matt. 6:19-21; 24; Mark 10:24-25; Luke 12:15; 16:13; 18:24-25; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; Heb. 13:5; Jas. 1:9-10; 5:1-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me to be wise about the possessions of which I am steward. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Morgan: no peace with sin

Sunday, July 20, 2014
    Commemoration of Bartolomè de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566
Meditation:
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
    —Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Thank God that He will not make peace with sin in my heart... I bless His name for the thunder of His authority, and for the profound conviction that He is fierce and furious in His anger against sin, wherever it manifests itself.
    ... G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945), Living Messages of the Books of the Bible, v. I, New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1912, p. 114 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 51:10; 24:3-4; 30:5; 51:7; Isa. 57:15-16; John 3:19-20; Heb. 12:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I long for the day when I will be free of sin. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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